


Where In the Universe are all those Lombaxes?

by Vullardqueen



Category: Ratchet & Clank
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2019-11-06 01:54:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17930567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vullardqueen/pseuds/Vullardqueen
Summary: Over a year after defeating Vendra and Neftin Prog, Ratchet was ready to settle down once and for all. That is, he's ready to settle down until he makes a discovery on Terachnos that changes the rest of his life for the better.





	1. Don't Forget to Leave the Lombax Out to Thaw

_ “Now that you’re out, what are you going to do?” _

_ “I’m gonna find the fucker that did this to me. There aren’t that many Lombaxes in the world. I’ll get him.” _

\--

Ratchet sighed as his ship landed on the metal loading bay on the outskirts of Axiom City with a slight  _ thunk.  _ Today was supposed to be a lazy day for him, but it seemed the day had other plans for him. Or, should he say  _ Talwyn  _ had other plans for him. She’d called just after Ratchet woke up around ten or so. 

“Ratchet, can you do a job for me?” She’d asked. “We’re swamped at the defense force with this  _ stupid  _ crime ring and we keep getting a complaint about noise coming from some abandoned building on Terachnos, outside of Axiom City. It shouldn’t be a big deal but, goddamn they won’t leave us alone about it.” 

Ratchet had begrudgingly agreed, and once he got the coordinates from Talwyn he got up and got dressed to head out. Now, he was stepping out onto the metal loading bay and looking over the seedy outskirts of Axiom City. Clank hopped onto his back as he drew his wrench. “...alright. Abandoned building with some weird noises.” He muttered. “Piece of cake, right? Probably just some pests.” 

“It could be.” Clank answered. “...I could suggest thugs but...Terachnoids are not known for their lawlessness.” 

Ratchet snorted as he walked up to one of the dented back doors. “I don’t know man...they’ve always got that evil gleam in their eyes.”

Clank let out a little laugh. He watched their back as Ratchet tried the door, easily pushing it open with a loud creak. Blue tinged moonlight spilled into a dusty back room filled with shelves and what looked like running power generators. “....huh. Real live working generators, Clank.” He muttered as his eyes followed black cords to another room to their left. 

“That might have something to do with the noise complaint. Did Talwyn specify what kind of noise the complaints were about?” Clank asked.

“Nah, guess it could be these generators though…” Ratchet nodded, rubbing his chin in thought. “Well, should we follow the cords?” 

“I do not see why not. Just be prepared for trouble.” Clank said with a nod. 

Ratchet followed the cords to a semi-open door on the left. At first he only peeked through the crack in the door just to make sure there wasn’t anything or anyone in the room. All he saw were a few upturned chairs and some broken glass bathed in a light blue glow. He then put a hand on the door and pushed it open to look at the room fully. 

There was a table besides the upturned chair. On it sat a bag that was faded, dusty and moth eaten as if it hadn’t been touched in years. The glass appeared to be part of a very much outdated communication device of some sort that was crushed and tossed in the corner. Standing over it and leaning against the wall was a battle wrench at least 2 feet taller than Ratchet himself, reminding him of Alister. 

Despite this, what really drew his attention was the tall glowing cylindrical container in front of him. The container was metal with a glass front, but the insides were entirely clouded up in white. Ratchet blinked. “....uh...bud I think we found something a little more interesting.” He said. 

“...may I see?” Clank asked, reaching back a robotic arm to tap Ratchet’s shoulder. 

“--oh. Right, yeah.” Ratchet turned his back so that Clank could see what he was looking at. The little robot’s green eyes looked it up and down before they fell onto a control panel by the chamber. 

“It looks almost like some kind of...cryogenics chamber.” Clank said. “There is a control panel there, Ratchet.” 

The Lombax nodded, moving over to the large metal object. He leaned down to see if he could read any of it, but there didn’t seem to be much useful information. Just buttons and dials that had their labels faded by time. “...do...do you think someone is actually  _ in  _ it?” Ratchet asked as his own eyes went to the chamber. 

“Judging by the stuff strewn around, and the generators. Yes. They must have been in there for a very….very long time.” Clank answered. 

“Should we unfreeze them?” Ratchet asked as his fingers hovered over the buttons. 

“...I do not know if that would be wise.” Clank answered. “This person looks as if they were...in a hurry to be frozen. Perhaps it is better if they are….not unfrozen.”

“Yeah but…” Ratchet’s eyes scanned the room, and they landed on the wrench sitting in the corner. “...look at this wrench. It’s a battle wrench, isn’t it? Just like Alister’s...It’s…” 

“Lombax in origin. I know.” Clank finished for him. “....but anyone could have taken a Lombax wrench.” 

Ratchet walked over, and reached out to pick the wrench up. “...yeah but...you never see them anymore…” He said softly before turning to look back at the container. “...all the stuff strewn everywhere tells me they either didn’t want to be frozen, or were frozen without a choice…” 

Clank sighed. “...it is up to you if you want to unfreeze this person.” He said. “...but you must understand you may cause trouble.” 

“Yeah, yeah I know Clank. But...my gut says to do this so…I’m gonna do it.” Ratchet said. He sat the wrench back down before going to the large metal panel. He wasn’t sure what button to press, but the big red one in the corner seemed the most appealing so he went for it. 

Once he pressed the button, the whirring of the machines changed. A worn down robotic voice made Ratchet jump. “Unfreezing subject. Please stand back.”

“...g-good thing I pressed the right button.” Ratchet muttered as he backed up to the door. A fine mist filtered out of the tube and into the air, making the room a little hazy. He couldn’t fully see what happened, but he knew that he soon saw the glass slide to the side and he saw someone fall out of it. Then, he heard a gasp and the sound of someone choking on their first breath in years.

Ratchet yelped as he rushed forwards to grab the person who had just fallen out. He didn’t take much time to look the person over, he just grabbed them and dragged them from the hazy room to the outside alley so that they could breathe cleaner air. He laid the down on the concrete outside, moonlight shining down on the first real glimpse got of them. Of  _ her. _

She was a Lombax. Long white ears with cream stripes almost too light to see alerted Ratchet of that. She was tiny, there was no way that she could have possibly hit 5 feet tall. She rolled onto her side, claws scraping the ground as she attempted to sit up and catch her breath.

“--woah, woah hang on!” Ratchet grabbed her, and helped her to sit up straight so she might breathe easier. She looked up at him with strikingly light blue eyes filled with confusion. He looked back at her with concern. “...just catch your breath.” 

She sat there, one hand on her chest as her entire body shivered. Clank hopped off Ratchet’s back so he could look at her. “It is a Lombax, Ratchet.” He said. 

“Yeah, is she alright…?” Ratchet asked as he watched her. 

“I believe she is just adjusting to not being frozen.” Clank answered as he looked her over. He slowly reached out to place a hand on her arm. “...Miss…?” 

She looked down at his hand, then up at him. She finally opened her mouth to speak, having to clear her throat and force life into her vocal chords again after what could have been years. When she finally spoke, it came out raspy, and as a language neither Ratchet or Clank understood.

“...uuuhhhh….” Ratchet glanced at Clank. “I’m...sorry?”

She spoke again, but this time she pointed to her ears and then made a motion as if to say no and quickly shook her head. 

“I believe she is speaking Lombax.” Clank said with a nod. “We do not speak each other’s languages.” 

“I don’t think she can hear either.” Ratchet muttered, watching as she let her hands fall to her side. “...uhhh okay. What do we do?”

“I believe Mrs. Apogee may be able to translate what she is saying.” Clank pointed out with a firm nod. 

“Right, good idea. Can you call her? I’m gonna get her into the ship and settled.” Ratchet asked. As soon as Clank nodded he stood up and offered a hand to the white Lombax as if to say ‘Let me help you up.’ She gratefully took it, and very slowly and shakily got to her feet. Ratchet had to wrap an arm around her just to keep her standing. He then pointed to his ship at the end of the alley. 

The small Lombax shook her head, and then pointed back at the building. She pulled away from Ratchet slightly, just enough to point at the wrench he was keeping right by his side. 

Ratchet’s brows furrowed, and he couldn’t help but tilt his head. “...huh? My wren--oh.” He watched her point to the building again. “...your wrench. Of course. Come on.” He quickly nodded to her, and helped her walk back into the dusty warehouse. 

Once they walked into the back room, she pulled him in the direction of her wrench. As soon as she could, she grabbed it and leant on it instead of Ratchet. He looked it up and down and raised an eyebrow. It was much taller than the Lombax herself -- two feet well over her head.

“Wow….that’s a tall wrench, you sure that’s yours?” He joked, giving her a lopsided smirk that just seemed to puzzle her. He then pointed to the worn down bag sitting on the table. 

She quietly moved over to it and gingerly opened it. She had to swat away a cloud of dust before reaching into it. She fished around before pulling out a small leather-like wallet, opening it to find only a few bolts and a faded picture that she lay on the table. She then fished out what could have been, at some point, food. Now it just seemed to crumble into black dust in her hands. 

Both Lombaxes wrinkled up their noses. “...I guess you were in here a long time, huh?” Ratchet asked. The other Lombax just wiped her hands on her pants and then pushed the bag away and picked up the picture. For a moment, she looked at it and then showed it to Ratchet. 

The picture was of the Lombax herself. She stood there with a wide grin on her face, and her wrench at her right side. Then to her left with an arm around her was another grinning Lombax. A tall man with a flat head and nose, long ears striped red and a square jaw. He had red eyes that seemed to have yellowed slightly. Ratchet’s stomach sank as he recognized the man. 

Alister. 

The Lombax pointed to Alister in the picture and tapped it, then looked at Ratchet expectedly. He only looked back at her with shock and puzzlement. “...huh?” He started quietly. Once again, she tapped the picture and then took her left hand away to point at herself, then show him a ring on her ring finger, then point at Alister in the picture. She then pointed to Ratchet, then to her eyes, then to Alister in the picture. What she was trying to communicate to Ratchet was clear. Had he seen her husband? 

He bit his lip. He couldn’t tell her ‘Yes, last time I saw your husband was at his funeral.’ But….he couldn’t lie either, right? He bit his lip harder, and then slowly nodded. 

The girl’s eyes widened, and she tapped the picture again as if to ask ‘Where???’ 

Ratchet shook his head, and then offered her his arm for her to lean on as well as the wrench. He pointed to the door. She took his arm, although she watched him with...curiosity. Ratchet just sighed. “...we’ll talk when we get to see Talwyn.” He muttered.

He lead her back to the ship, finding Clank already standing on the passenger side with a spare blanket they had in the back. “I found this. It would be good for her.” Clank explained. He motioned for the girl to take a seat, and as soon as she was settled he wrapped the blanket around her shoulders before sitting besides her. 

Ratchet walked around the ship and hopped in the driver’s side. He sighed heavily, gripping the steering as the ship began to take off. At first, it was just stifling silence in the ship. Ratchet kept running that picture the Lombax held through his brain until he felt like it was going to strangle him. He finally looked up. “....Clank?” 

“Yes, Ratchet?” The robot asked, looking to Ratchet with curious eyes. “Is something the matter?”

“...y-yeah. Actually.” Ratchet said as he slumped slightly in his seat. “...all that stuff in the room was hers, she um...showed me something out of that bag. She showed me a picture. It was of um...her and Alister.”

Clank perked up slightly, then narrowed his big green eyes. “...of her and Alister?” 

“Y-Yeah. She showed me a ring on her finger too, and pointed to him.” 

Clank hummed. “...perhaps they were married. Although...Alister did not mention a wife, did he?” 

“Nope. I didn’t even see a ring…” He said, glancing at the Lombax with a certain….weariness. 

“...we will ask when we speak with Mrs. Apogee.” Clank decided. “...either way, you should not worry too much.”

“...right. I’ll try.” Ratchet muttered. He then let his hands fall into his lap, letting the ship’s autopilot take them home. He glanced at the Lombax besides them a few times, only to find her staring out the ship’s window with a look of amazement. He began to worry about what he had found.

\--

When they arrived at Apogee Space Station Talwyn was waiting by the entrance for them. Her eyes widened when she saw the Lombax, and quickly stepped closer to look her over. Her almost pure white fur gleamed in the station lights, and strikingly blue eyes looked Talwyn over as well. “...oh wow.” She breathed. “She’s beautiful, she must be albino. She’s deaf, right? Makes sense.” 

“...makes sense?” Ratchet asked with a frown.

“Yeah, Lombaxes and Cazars both are known to be deaf if they’re albino…” She explained. “There’s just...not very many people with albinism.” 

“...the more you know, I guess. I know you know Lombax but uhhh, you wouldn’t happen to know Lombax sign language, would you?” Ratchet asked as he leaned on the wall, keeping his eyes on the Lombax in front of them.

“No, I don’t…” She sighed, “But, I can write it and I do have pen and paper. So maybe we can communicate that way.” She said. She motioned for the Lombax to follow her, and she nodded in return. 

Talwyn took them to the kitchen, tapping a chair so their visitor knew she could take it. She gingerly took the seat while Talwyn grabbed a notebook and a pen. Hastily, she began to scribble down wrench-like lettering that Ratchet recognized but couldn’t read. As soon a she was done, she turned it towards the Lombax. “...I’m asking her what her name is…” She explained to the others. 

The Lombax looked down at the paper, and her entire face lit up when she saw her own language on the paper. She looked up to Talwyn, a grin on her face.  _ “--you speak Lombax!”  _

Talwyn glanced at Ratchet and Clank, and quickly repeated what she had said but in their language. She then scribbled onto the paper  _ “Yes, I can. Can you hear anything?”  _

The Lombax shook her head.  _ “Not much. It sounds like I’m underwater.”  _

_ “Alright,”  _ Talwyn wrote.  _ “We’ll get you some hearing aids. Do those help you?”  _

The Lombax nodded eagerly.  _ “I used to have them, but I lost them before being frozen.”  _

Talwyn nodded.  _ “Alright, and what’s your name?”  _

_ “My name is Alis. Who are you all…?”  _ She asked, looking around at the others. 

_ “The other Lombax is Ratchet. The robot is Clank, and I’m Talwyn.”  _ Talwyn wrote. 

Alis paused, tilting her head.  _ “The other Lombax doesn’t know our language?” _

Talwyn smiled a little, and shook her head no.  _ “No. He doesn’t.”  _ She wrote. Then she paused before taking a while to write another question for her.  _ “Ratchet said you were frozen. Why were you frozen? How long?” _

Alis reached into her pocket and pulled out the picture she had shown Ratchet. She put it on the table, and slid it to Talwyn. Talwyn say the picture and she looked at with wide eyes. 

_ “When Tachyon attacked, my husband Alister was exiled. I stayed in this dimension to be by his side, but...Tachyon was chasing us down. We split up so we would both have a better chance to survive. I found the cryo chamber and froze myself to hide.”  _ Alis explained. She then looked up to Ratchet.  _ “You’ve seen Alister right….?” _

Talwyn swallowed, and looked to Ratchet and clank to explain what Alis just told her. “...she wants to know if you’ve seen her Alister…”

Ratchet's shoulders slumped. “...tell her, Tal.” He sighed.

Talwyn nodded and began to write.  _ “Do you know of the Great Clock?” _

_ “Oh! Yes, of course. It was being theorized before Tachyon attacked.” _

_ “Alister found the Great Clock. He attempted to use it to turn back time to save the Lombaxes. It almost destroyed the universe. He sacrificed himself to stop it. He died a few years ago. I’m sorry…”  _

Alis’ eyes fell to the picture in front of her.  _ “Oh…” _ She started.  _ “Well...thank you for telling me. Where is he buried…?” _

_ “He’s buried on Fastoon. We can take you to see him soon.”  _ Talwyn offered.

_ “I would be very grateful. I’d like to say goodbye.”  _ Alis said.  _ “One more time.”  _

_ “Alright, we will.”  _ Talwyn firmly nodded.  _ “We’ll try and go tomorrow if you feel up to it. You should rest tonight.” _

Alis nodded, taking the picture and putting it back in her pocket. 

“Wait...Talwyn. Can you ask her why Alister never mentioned a wife?” Ratchet asked.

Talwyn gave him a look as it fo say ‘Ratchet, that’s cruel.’, but she wrote down the question anyway. 

Alis read it, before she looked a little relieved.  _ “When we split up, we agreed not to forget each other, but to never mention each other as to protect each other.”  _

Talwyn relayed all of that to Ratchet, and he nodded. After a moment, he fished his pocket watch out. He walked over to Alis and pressed it into her hand. “You should have this, then.” 

Her eyes widened slightly. She of course recognized it, and quickly opened it to see the picture of Alister and his best friend Kaden. She studied the orange Lombax in the picture, and then looked at Ratchet. She pointed to Kaden, then to Ratchet with a questioning look.

Ratchet nodded, and Talwyn quickly scribbled down a message.  _ “Kaden is his father.” _

Alis read it, and then closed the watch and pressed it into his hand. She spoke through Talwyn.  _ “You take this. You need to keep it to remember your father. He was a great man. You should be proud to be his son.”  _ She then took Ratchet’s hand and pressed it to his chest.  _ “Keep it close to your heart, and never let it go.”  _


	2. Not A Housewife

When Alis woke the morning after arriving at Apogee Station, she found herself exhausted. The plans that she, Ratchet and Talwyn had made to visit Fastoon the next day had to be put off so that Alis could rest. She spent most of the time sleeping, but when she was awake she was doing her best to pick up common. She and Talwyn spent a lot of time pouring over books in hopes that she could pick the language up as quickly as possible.

Ratchet, however, spent most of the week away from the station. He said it was to find a pair of hearing aids for Alis, and of course that was the truth but it wasn’t all of it. Being around Alis left a knot in his stomach he couldn’t cover up, and he couldn’t stand. While they were out he and Clank didn’t speak a word of it, they just worked on their mission. It wasn’t until the very end of the week that he, with the help of a few friends, found a pair of hearing aids made for a Lombax. It was a pair that had been owned by another Lombax before their death likely at Tachyon’s hands. They were thus an older paid and a bit broken, but he spent a night fixing them up and brought them out to the main room the following morning.

By then, Alis was out of bed and sitting at the table while Talwyn cooked something for breakfast. He raised an eyebrow when he saw her. “Hey look at you, out of bed.” He said with a small grin. 

Alis looked back up at him. She tried to watch his lips, attempting to peace together words based on his mouth’s movement but it came to no avail. She just kind of smiled. “...good morning.” She said quietly. 

Ratchet sat down at the table besides her, and he held out his hand with the hearing aids laying in the palm of his hand. 

Alis’s eyes fell on them and immediately lit up.  _ “--Hearing aids!”  _ She exclaimed in Lombax. She quickly snatched them up from his hand. She checked they were working before she placed them in each ear. 

Almost immediately she was assaulted with noise, and it took her a few moments to sort it all out. She had to take them out and adjust them before it was at all bearable. Once they were at alright volumes she began to sort out the sounds around her. She could hear the hum of the ship instead of feeling it’s vibrations through her feet. She could hear the sound of Talwyn taking plates down from the cabinet, and she could hear the sound of Ratchet’s voice right besides her. 

“--well? Are they working?”

Alis looked up at him with wide eyes brimming with excitement.  _ “I can hear!”  _ She said first in Lombax, then she tried again in his language. “I-I can hear!! It works!” 

Ratchet broke out into a full grin, and he burst out into a laugh of joy. “--yes!” He said. “I’m so glad! Y-You can hear everything??” 

She nodded. “I am hearing everything!” She said. 

“Try, ‘I can hear everything’, Alis.” Talwyn said as she turned to place a plate on the table for Alis and one for Ratchet. “Here you go, I assumed you might want something.” 

Alis repeated what Talwyn said, muttering it over a few times to get a feel for it. She firmly nodded, and said it one final time. “I hear everything.”

“There you go.” Talwyn said as she sat down herself. “...did you work all night on those Ratchet…?”

“Yeah…” He admitted. “Me and Clank. He’s back there charging for right now. I think I’ll follow him here soon.” 

“Actually, we were thinking...Alis is finally doing better. We were going to go out to Fastoon. I figured you’d wanna go.” Talwyn explained. 

Ratchet perked up when she mentioned Fastoon. “--oh! Listen, I’m tired as hell but I’ve been more tired.” He said. “I know it’s important to you anyways, Alis.” 

Alis nodded, reaching back to run a hand through her own white hair. “...yes.” She said quietly. “It is…” 

“Let’s finish up breakfast and we’ll go.” Ratchet said with a firm nod. He then dug into the food on his plate and rushed to finish up. He knew Alis had been waiting to say goodbye to her husband one last time for the entire week. He wasn’t going to hold her back just because he was tired. The moment they were done with breakfast they gathered up everything they might need including wrenches, weapons and robotic backpack buddies, and then they were off. 

The plane ride there was short. Alis spent most of her time looking out the window at the stars and various space debris around her, until suddenly she was looking not at stars, but at the pale yellow surface of Fastoon. “--oh!” She said as she recognized it. “Were here!” 

“Yeah, we’re here.” Ratchet said as he maneuvered the ship to land as near as he could to Alister’s grave, lying near the Court of Azimuth. Once they landed the top of the ship popped open and the four of them hopped out. 

Alis’s feet hit the dusty stone beneath them, and she looked up at the court in front of her with a smile.  _ “The Court of Azimuth…” _ She whispered in her own language. “It has been a long time since I was here. Everything does look…” Alis paused, searching for the right word as she leaned on her wrench.

“...rough? Destroyed? Run down?” Ratchet suggested. “All of those fit.” 

“....yes.” She said with a nod. “Run down...no one has been here for a long time.” 

“...yeah. Talwyn, Clank and I are the only people who visit this place anymore, and we barely visit it. Only to visit Alister.” Ratchet explained. He looked towards where he knew the General was buried. “...are you ready, Alis?”

“Yes. I am ready.” Alis answered. She followed his eyes towards the court. “...he is buried here?” 

“Yeah, we figured it might be important to him.” Ratchet explained as he walked towards the Court with Talwyn and Alis in tow. 

“It is named after him, isn’t it?” Clank asked from Ratchet’s back, holding up a finger. 

_ “The Court….?”  _ Alis asked as she tilted her head. “The...The…” She paused, trying to find the word in common.

“...court. It’s called the Court of Azimuth in our language.” Talwyn explained to her. 

“The Court of Azimuth…It was not named for Alister.” She explained as a small grin grew on her face. “It was named for me.” 

Ratchet just about stopped, looking back at her with furrowed brows. “...named for you??” He asked. 

“Yes. The Court of Azimuth was named for me.” She explained. “I m...made it. I...um…” She faltered, and then made a motion like she was drawing on paper. 

Talwyn blinked.  _ “You’re an architect?”  _ She asked her in Lombax. 

Alis’ face lit up.  _ “Yes! Architect! I made the blueprints, and of course helped build it. I did not name it the Court of Azimuth but the name was given to me as an honor. As a thank you for my service, I suppose.”  _

_ “...your service? For building it? Or designing it? Or…..?”  _ Talwyn asked. Ratchet and Clank just looked between the two as they talked, wondering what they were talking about. 

_ “I was the elder councilman over city planning and Architecture in general for the planet.”  _ Alis explained, standing tall with her wrench at her side.  _ “They named the building for me after I had been in my position for quite a few years.” _

Talwyn kind of blinked again, and then looked at Ratchet. “...she says she was the elder councilman for city planning and architecture for Fastoon. They named the building after her as an honor for her service.” She explained.

Ratchet stared at Alis, blinking a little bit himself. “...I...really thought for a little bit you were just like...a wife…” 

Alis laughed a little. “...most people were surprised I was not just a wife. Sometimes I thought that maybe it would be nice to be just a wife.” She admitted. “...I was very….busy.” She said, glancing at Talwyn to make sure that was the right word. 

Talwyn nodded to her. “...yeah, I can imagine.” 

“I did love my job…” She said with a slightly wistful sigh. “It is...bad to see it all run down…” 

Ratchet came to a stop in the shade of the Court. He stood by a slab of stone half buried in the dirt, and etched it into was the name Alister Azimuth in Lombax. He looked up to Alis, “...here he is, Alis…”

Alis’ eyes fell on the headstone, and for a moment it was as if everything around her just stopped. It was as if the weight of the realization she was standing at her husband’s grave fell onto her shoulders, and she slowly lowered herself to the ground to sit in the sand besides him. She slowly lay her wrench down in the sand, and reached out to brush her fingers over the stone. 

She found herself thinking back to the night they decided to split up. They stood on Jasindu together. Alister held her as tight as he could, knowing that when he let her go she would be gone forever. She too held him tight, pressing her face against his chest and relishing the moment. 

She knew she’d never see him again, but she never thought she’d have to stand by his grave. Somehow, this was much much worse. Now she knew there was no chance of him being alive, and happy and safe.

She put her head in her hand, staring at the stone in front of her. She saw Ratchet walk around the grave in the corner of her eye, and sit down besides her. He offered her a hand, which she thankfully took. 

“I’m...sorry.” She said quickly, reaching up to wipe tears from her eyes. “...I never thought I would actually...be here. At his grave.” 

“...I know…” Ratchet said softly. “I’m really sorry, Alis…” 

She shook her head, and managed to smile after taking a long breath. “...it’s alright. Thank you for letting me see him, one more time.” She said. “Fastoon too…” 

He nodded. “Yeah, of course. It’s no problem…” 

Alis took a deep breath, and picked up her wrench. She leaned over to place a hand on the sand over where he was buried.  _ “...I’ll see you again someday. I guess the universe will have to decide when, but whenever it is...I can’t wait.”  _ Alis whispered.  _ “I love you, Alister. I’ll see you later.”  _

She took her hand away from the ground, and used her wrench to stand up. “...there is no point in standing here and being sad.” She said as she fully got to her feet. She reached out to offer Ratchet a hand and help him get up. “I can show you the old government building. My office could be still...together.” 

Ratchet looked at Talwyn with a look of surprise before he shrugged. “If you’re up to it, Alis.” 

She nodded. “Yes, I am believing I am.” 

“I think I am.” Talwyn corrected her, then motioned for her to go ahead. “Lead the way!”

Alis turned away from the Court and began to make her way towards a large building across the stone covered plaza. She used her wrench like a staff that was much too big for her. As Ratchet followed, he couldn’t help but wonder if she had earned that wrench. 

She glanced back at them. “So, have you met other Lombaxes?” 

“Uh...no?” Ratchet answered, scratching the back of his neck. “Just Alister, really.” 

Alis stopped to fully look back at them with clear confusion written on her face. “...you haven’t…?”

“No, I thought all the other Lombaxes, you know, left…?”

Alis turned to continue walking, taking them to the nearly collapsed entrance. She ducked inside. “Most Lombaxes did leave after Tachyon attacked.” She explained. Her voice echoed around the empty hall. “...but, do you think every Lombax in the universe was on Fastoon when he attacked?”

Ratchet paused at that, his mouth open slightly as if he  _ was  _ going to say something but stopped himself. “I...mean…” He faltered. “I guess not…?”

“I do not think that ever occurred to us.” Clank muttered. “We have never seen other Lombaxes.” 

Alis looked around, spotting a somehow still together staircase for plot convenience. “Maybe they are just hidden.” She said as she began climbing the staircase. “Follow me, watch the holes.” 

Ratchet and Talwyn threw each other quizzical looks before following the other Lombax up the staircase. She lead them down the hall, looking at every door they passed, muttering the names on the plaques as she passed.  _ “Garfield...Johann...Killian...Magnus...Alis!  _ There it is!” She reached out to push the door open, and stepped into the old office. 

Over a decade of dust flew into the air as they walked in, leaving everyone but Clank coughing. Alis powered through to the window in the back and opened it as fast as he could.  _ “So much dust…”  _ She muttered. “At least everything is still here…” She said, looking around her office.

It was rather spacious. There were bookshelves lining the walls with many pictures in fancy frames and moth eaten books sitting in rows. There was a desk and an office chair in the middle room stacked with blueprints and paperwork, and a dusty old futon no one was brave enough to sit on. 

Ratchet walked over and picked up one of the blueprints to look it over. He found it was full of details and so well done he was impressed. “Hey, Alis! This is good!” He said as he passed it back to Clank.

Her face lit up. “Thank you!” She said, then looked to the window and the smile faded. “It is sad to look at it all….wrong now.” 

“...yeah.” Ratchet sighed. He looked over at Alis then, watching the look on her face as she scanned the ruined buildings. “Just...no one lives here anymore. It’s an abandoned planet.” 

Alis nodded, falling dead silent. Ratchet and Talwyn just looked around the office. Talwyn looked through a few of the books to see if there was anything interesting, and Ratchet continued to look through the blueprints. He only glanced up at her every once in a while to be sure she was somewhat okay. 

A few minutes after she’d stopped talking, she looked up. “Ratchet?” She asked. “What if we fixed Fastoon?” 

Ratchet blinked, and slowly sat down one of the blueprints. “...I’m...sorry?”

“What if we fix Fastoon?” She repeated her question, looking at him with a curious and determined look on her face. “...we can stay here. We can fix this first. If we build...h...homes….and find all the other Lombaxes...maybe we can re...redo?” 

Ratchet glanced at Talwyn, and then slowly he shuffled his feet. “...that’s a good idea and everything Alis but...I’m not sure we can do that. I’ve been alive for well over 20 years and so has Talwyn and we’ve never met another Lombax besides Alister…”

“Yes. I know.” Alis said quickly. “...but they must be hiding somewhere!” 

“But Alis, what if we don’t find any other Lombaxes…?” Talwyn spoke up in as gentle a tone as she could. “Then...who are we rebuilding Fastoon for….?”

Alis paused at that question, and she looked over the ruined buildings again. “....we can rebuild it for others, then. For...For…” She stopped, unable to think of the word in their new language.  _ “Refugees. We can rebuild for Refugees coming from other planets. Even if there are no Lombaxes...we can make use of this planet. I loved this planet and its cities, and I’m sure that they will love us back and be useful as long as we rebuild.” _

Talwyn raised an eyebrow, and turned to repeat everything she just said to Ratchet. “...that’s not a bad idea, Ratchet.” She said as she finished. “We’ve seen entire planets be destroyed in supernovas...those people they have nowhere to go. What if we did rebuild Fastoon…? For people like them?” 

Ratchet rubbed his chin as he thought. The little robot on his back hopped off, and then climbed up on the desk to be somewhat even with them. “I do not think this is a bad idea either, Ratchet.” He said. 

“...I mean...yeah it’s a good idea. But...in order to really work on this we’d have to find the supplies, find the money. We’d have to like...live here while we fixed it.” Ratchet explained. He had doubt written all over his face, and he bit his lip. “...but...I...I think I know a guy who could help us get supplies. We can donate our money, Tal…” He said. “...and maybe it’d be nice to live here again…”

“It sounds like you’re on board.” Clank suggested with his signature laugh that the author isn’t quite sure how to describe. 

“...I guess so. This is way out of nowhere but…..yeah, Alis. Let’s rebuild Fastoon!” Ratchet said as he looked up at her. 

The Lombax’s entire face lit up, and she dashed to her desk. She began to clear her desk, putting blueprints on the floor and finding old sheets of clean paper. “We make a plan!” She said quickly. “List of b...buildings we need to do in the beginning! You call the guy who can help us with supplies!” Alis said as she grabbed an old pen, scribbling over the paper until it worked and began to scribble down notes, talking in both Lombax and common as she started to plan. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came out a bit faster than I anticipated!! I'm glad to be able to post it though! I'm taking a small break from school this week so I'm really exctied to get more of this done!!   
> Thank you so much for reading! I suuuuper appreciate it! <3


	3. Let's Make A Deal

_ “They’re gathering on Fastoon, but none of them are my Lombax.”  _

_ “...which one’s the one you’re looking for?”  _

_ “The gray one. He’ll show up eventually. Then we’ll get him.” _

\--

Late afternoon light filtered through the window of Alis’ office, spilling onto fresh blueprints that lay on the desk. Alis sighed as she sat back, setting down a pencil as she looked over the finished sketches in front of her. She scanned them, her ears twitching as she heard the sound of voices downstairs. She picked up her head, staring at the door to her office before she stood. She grabbed the pile of papers and quickly walking out the door, down the hall, and down the rickety stairs to the main lobby where Ratchet stood with Talwyn, Clank, and a few of their friends they’d called for help.

“--Oh, hey Alis!” Ratchet spoke up as he saw her run down the stairs. “We just finished moving as much of the junk furniture out of here as possible.” He explained. He saw the papers in her hand, eyeing them with interest. “Hey, are those the new blueprints?”

Alis’ face lit up. “Yes!!” She said, holding the papers up. “I finished them!” 

“Oh cool! Can I take a look at them?” Ratchet asked as he walked over to peer at them. Alis started to hand them over, but someone snatched the papers out of her hand before Ratchet could even see them. They both looked up at a tall, broad man in green spandex. “--Qwark--” Ratchet snapped. 

“I’ll take a look at these!” Qwark’s voice boomed over them both, and Alis reached up to adjust her hearing aids after a small cringe. “--I’m the expert on plans, as you know.” 

“I think every plan of yours that I’ve used has nearly gotten me killed,” Ratchet muttered as he crossed his arms. 

Alis just watched him curiously, eyes going back and forth between Qwark’s face and the blueprints in his hands. After a moment, he looked up from them with brows furrowed and confusion in his eyes. “It’s just lines! You need a real plan.”

“This is a real plan.” Alis replied as she got on her tiptoes to take the papers back. She then kneeled, laying the papers out one by one on the dusty floor. The others gathered around to look down on them, eyes scanning the blueprints. “...this is just a rough sketch of what I want the outside to look like, and then I have the floors mapped out here…” She explained, pointing to each paper. “The most important things we can do right now is start fixing the stairs, and the upstairs floors so they do not come down on us.” She said, pointing to the ceiling above them. “And the places we will be sleeping. For our safety.” 

A brown cazar with dark hair came to kneel besides Alis, looking over the different papers as she rubbed her chin. “...this looks pretty good, Alis.” She said, looking over at her with a smile. “...I wish we could help fund the rebuilding. I’m still trying to convince the council to lend you guys some money.” 

Alis couldn’t help but smile at the Cazar’s offer. “...aw, Sasha…” She started. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll find some way to fund all of this. Things work out, usually.”

“I really hope it does.” Sasha answered.

“I already got some of the supplies coming.” Ratchet explained. “So we can start working on something as soon as it’s here.” 

“I’ll make a list of things to be done.” Alis nodded, gathering up the papers. “When will they get here?”

Ratchet looked towards the busted out window. “I’m not sure…” He admitted. “He really doesn’t run on a real strict schedule, so…”

Alis nodded, stacking her papers. “I’ll go put this up, I can try and cook something. I’m sure you guys are hungry…”

“Eh, don’t worry. I’ll go get something.” 

She nodded, turning to hurry up the stairs to put her papers up. As she ran up the stairs, she paused as she felt vibrations under her feet. Her ears perked up and she heard the sound of a ship landing outside. She looked down at everyone standing near the base of the stairs. “Who, or what, is that?” She asked.

“I think he’s here.” Ratchet said, looking towards one of the busted out windows. 

“Oh!” Alis hurried to dash back down the stairs so she could follow the group out to the plaza in front of the town hall. 

There stood a ship that reminded Alis of an old dairy ship, and standing besides it with arms crossed was an extremely tall and strange looking Tharpod. When he saw Alis he grinned, tipping a hat to her. “Well, look at that. A lady Lombax.” He said. “Now where did you come from?” 

“...well...I came from  _ here _ .” Alis said. “But I’ve been on Terachnos for a while, until Ratchet found me.” She paused. “I’m Alis, by the way.”

“You can call me Smuggler.” The man replied. He held a hand out for her to shake, and she gladly took it. She had to shift all the papers in her hands to one of her arms. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Smuggler.” She said.

“Well…” Smuggler said. “I brought all the stuff ya asked for. Although….” He paused, rubbing his chin. “...what exactly do y’all need building materials on Fastoon for…?” He asked as he eyed the papers in Alis’ hands. 

“Oh, well…” Ratchet reached up to rub the back of his head rather sheepishly. “...It was Alis’ idea, but me, Tal and Alis decided we wanna kinda rebuild Fastoon….”

Smuggler’s eyebrows shot up and he let out a sharp, almost disbelieving laugh.  “--rebuild Fastoon? For who?” 

“Lombaxes are gone!” His parrot at his shoulder cried, making Smuggler reach up to quiet him down by running a finger over his feathers. “...he’s got a point. Lombaxes are gone.” 

“Well, obviously we’re not  _ gone.” _ Alis quickly snapped, sounding indignant. Her tone made Smuggler backpedal a little bit. “I’m right here. Ratchet is right here. Alister  _ was  _ here. Clearly I’m not the only one. I do believe that there are other Lombaxes in the other universe.” 

“--plus! Even if there aren’t actually others in the universe, we can rebuild it for refugees and stuff.” Ratchet cut in, glancing at Alis. “I think that’s really the plan.” 

“...that’s a little more realistic, I reckon.” Smuggler answered, glancing down at Alis. He looked her over before he asked, “...you really think there’re more Lombaxes out there….?” 

“I believe so.” Alis said firmly. She tapped her foot in the dust, watching his face with a stubborn look on her own. 

Smuggler looked away from her, and after a moment he just softly laughed. “...you seem pretty sure of yourself.”

“I am.”

Smuggler once more rubbed his chin as he thought. He then reached up to adjust his hat as he got a small smile on his face. “...well…” He started. “I should take ya to meet my wife and son, then.” 

Ratchet could have swore he just got whiplash turning his head towards Smuggler the moment he heard those words. “--your  _ what.”  _

“You’ll need something fancy, you can’t come up there dressed like that.” Smuggler continued, completely ignoring what Ratchet had said. “...how bout y’all help me unload the buildin’ supplies, I’ll leave and come back in…an hour or two, I’ll take ya to meet them.” 

_ “You have a wife?”  _ Ratchet continued, his voice unheard by both Smuggler and Alis besides him. 

“That sounds alright. I’m afraid I don’t have anything besides this to wear.” Alis said, glancing down at her silver tank top, pants and boots. 

“I might have something that’ll fit you, don’t worry.” Sasha spoke up. “We’re pretty roughly the same size, I think. We’ll just run back to my place.” 

_ “GUYS.”  _ Ratchet tried.

“Then I think we gotta deal. Let’s get this unloaded then, come help me out, Ratchet.” Smuggler said, shooting him a shit eating grin before he turned to walk to the back of his ship.

\--

Alis stood in front of a dusty old mirror standing against the wall out by the plaza. She stood looking at herself, straightening a tux jacket and and fixing the pants she wore. For a moment she stood just looking at herself, nervously fixing little things. She didn’t move until she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Ratchet walking up behind her in his own tux. 

He flashed a grin at her. “Hey, the tux looks pretty good on you after all.” He said. “You look way more comfortable in that then one of the dresses.” 

Alis laughed nervously. “...I always liked suits better than dresses.” She said. “Never got to wear them very often, though.” 

“Why not?” He asked as he went to sit down on a pile of bricks by the town hall entrance.

“I don’t know. Guess everyone expected me to wear dresses and stuff, since I’m a girl.” She said as she straightened her hair before going to sit besides him. “I got used to both, though.” 

Ratchet nodded, glancing at the entrance as some others started to come out dressed up. He couldn’t help but scratch his chin a little. “Wonder where we’re going, you know? That we gotta dress to the nines.” 

“I don’t know. I can’t think of many places…” She said, coming to sit besides him. “...some opera house? Some rich person’s party? A casino? Like a  _ really, really  _ rich people casino?” 

“I really can’t see Smuggler married to someone rich.” Ratchet admitted.”He’s kind of, uhhhhhh….”

Alis couldn’t help but laugh. “I understand what you’re saying.” She said. 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement, and she looked over to see the others in their little group making their way out, all of them dressed to the nines just like they were. Ratchet grinned, standing and walking over to Talwyn to place an arm around her waist, leaning into kiss her cheek and compliment her. Alis quickly found herself looking away, a dull ache in her chest as her mind wandered back to memories of herself and Alister as he complimented her on her outfit and kissed her head. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by the deep rumbling of a ship entering the atmosphere. She looked up past the setting Fastoon sun to see a nice ship coming down to softly land on the stone plaza outside of the town hall. She glanced at the others, and slowly she stood.

The door to the ship opened and after a moment Smuggler stepped out into the dusty plaza wearing his normal clothes. “--Hey!” Ratchet spoke up. “Why aren’t you all dressed up and uncomfortable like the rest of us?”

“Well, m’wife is snazzy enough for the both of us and I don’t have to dress up.” Smuggler answered with a grin. “...anyways, come on in guys. We’re about to head that way.”

Everyone stood, dusting off their clothes and slipping into the ship. They found a comfortable interior with plenty of space -- nothing like Smuggler’s actual ship. Ratchet couldn’t help but throw suspicious glances at Smuggler most of the way there. Talwyn kept nudging him, as if to tell him to keep his mouth shut. 

The ship ride there was long. Everyone watched through the windows as the stars flew by and they traveled farther out into the edge of the Polaris galaxy, an area not traveled by many. Traffic around the area didn’t pick up until they reached a rather large space station with fancy ships parked around it and twinkling lights galore. Alis beamed as she looked out the window, marveling at the build of the ship while the others simply looked puzzled. 

“...I didn’t even know this was out here.” Ratchet muttered. 

“...is this a fucking casino?” Talwyn asked, her eyes turning towards Smuggler. “Don’t you know those are like, illegal? In the Polaris Galaxy? Where I am Polaris defense force captain?” 

Smuggler laughed as he adjusted his hat. “I know, I know. But I think the...resources and people m’wife can offer you might just make this little trip worthwhile.” 

“Are you trying to bribe me?” Talwyn looked at him incredulously. 

“--hey, let him bribe you it’s fine.” Ratchet muttered as he elbowed Talwyn in the side. “...we’re trying to rebuild Fastoon, right?” 

Talwyn shot a short glare between both Smuggler and Ratchet before she crossed her arms with a huff.  _ “Fine.” _ She said. “We’ll see what your wife can offer.”

“I guarantee she won't disappoint.” Smuggler said as the ship docked into place. He stood up as the door opened, and he motioned for Talwyn to leave with a grin. “Ladies first.”

Talwyn rolled her eyes a little as she stepped off the ship onto a large glass platform above what seemed to be general parking below. Her heels clicked against the glass below as she stepped away from the ship so the others could follow, and as soon as everyone was off the door shut and they heard a voice from the other end of the platform.

As everyone looked up they saw a graying Cazar wearing a tux just like them coming down the platform. “Good Evening John, is this everyone Ellie wanted to see?” 

_ “--John?!”  _ Ratchet choked in the background.

“Yeah, this is all of ‘em.” Smuggler answered with a nod. “Is Ellie around?” 

“She’s in her office.” The man nodded and looked to the group behind Smuggler. “My name is Orvar Rochus, I’m Mrs. Ellie’s assistant. I’ll take you all to meet her, she’s  _ very  _ excited to meet you all.” 

“Well, we’re excited to meet her as well.” Alis spoke up with a nod and a smile. 

The assistant nodded, and motioned for them to follow. “Alright, then follow me please.” 

He began to walk down the long glass pathway with the others in tow, taking them through a sliding door to a long ornate looking hallway. There was a set of double doors on which Orvar knocked and after a moment he opened the door to let them step in. 

As they did they all saw a tall nether woman stand up from behind a large desk, and a gray Lombax look up from a book he was holding as well. “--oh is this them?!” She asked Smuggler, her face beaming. She stepped around the desk, walking to the group to hold out a hand for each of them. “It’s so nice to meet you! John mentioned he met other Lombaxes, he said you guys were trying to rebuild Fastoon, right?” 

Alis looked this woman over momentarily. She towered over her, and had Nether wings behind her. She wore a deep purple evening dress, and heels that made even Alis feel a little shaky for her. However, if she was nervous she didn’t show it. She just smiled and held out her hand. “Why, yes we’re trying to rebuild Fastoon.” 

“That’s so interesting.” She said as she moved to sit against the edge of her desk after shaking everyone’s hands. “What in the galaxy would make you want to do that…?”

“Well...Mrs. Apogee said that there are many refugees without homes thanks to various disasters….” Alis started. Then her blue eyes wandered to the gray Lombax sitting in the background, just watching. “...plus, I personally believe there are...other Lombaxes in the universe who’d like to have a home to come home to.” 

Ellie followed Alis’ eyes to the gray Lombax sitting in the background, and she made a motion to him. He slowly stood, coming over to them and looking both Ratchet and Alis over curiously and nervously. “...this is our son, Smug.” Ellie said. “We found him when he was maybe four or five on Ardolis. You’re what, 28 now?” She asked, looking down at her son.

He nodded, still eyeing the other two Lombaxes. “Yeah, 28.” 

Alis tilted her head as she watched Smug. “...you were five around the time Tachyon attacked then, weren’t you…?” She asked him gently. “...you must remember some things from before the attack. The braids are a cultural thing…”

The nervousness on Smug’s face seemed to fade away as he reached up to feel the braids sitting on his shoulders. “...I uh...I remember my dad having them, yeah.” He said. “...you were alive before Tachyon?” 

Alis nodded, smiling a little. “Yeah, I was. A while before him, at least 20 years before.” As she said that, she couldn’t help but notice his face lighting up a little. “I guess I’ll have to tell you about it. You and Ratchet both need a history lesson about the Lombaxes…” 

“I think my jobs take me by Fastoon a lot…” He said as he reached back to nervously mess with his hair. 

“What exactly….do you do?” Ratchet asked curiously, looking this lightly armored Lombax up and down. He had a gun by his side that even Ratchet was a little impressed with.

“Uh...kind of whatever needs to be done around here.” Smug admitted. “...smuggling jobs and other…uhh….more deadly jobs.” 

Ratchet and Alis both raised an eyebrow, and Talwyn narrowed her eyes at him slightly. Smuggler eyed her, before walking over to Ellie’s side. “...I told Mrs. Apogee here that you might be willing to help ‘em out with their little project…” He explained, watching Ellie slightly. 

Ellie looked up up at the Markazian standing there and saw her expression. She just smiled, and walked to sit down in the chair behind her desk. “Ah, yes, I think I might be able to help after all. Have a seat, please.” She said, motioning to the seats in front of her desk. 

Alis and Ratchet took their seats, while Talwyn sat down a little more cautiously. She was keeping her eye on the three of them. “...you know.” She started. “We’ve been struggling to bust a certain crime ring here in Polaris for a while now.” 

“I know, hun.” Ellie answered. “It’s been a pain in our asses for a while now. We’re kind of tough to bust.” 

“What’s stopping me from busting you right now?” Talwyn snapped as she sat forwards. 

“Like my husband said, I think I can offer you guys some help.” Ellie said as she sat back in her chair. 

“I’m not going to be bribed.” Talwyn snapped again. “If you think--”

_ “--Talwyn--”  _ Ratchet hissed after a moment, holding a hand out towards her. “...Just...hang on, okay? Let’s hear her out. Please.”

Talwyn looked at Ratchet with furrowed brows and a furious look on her face. She opened her mouth to snap back at him, but as she looked at his eyes she saw something almost...unfamiliar in them. It was like desperation. 

“Thank you, Ratchet.” Ellie spoke up after a moment. “...to be totally honesty, this casino and this crime ring in general have brought me a lot more money than I know what to do with. I want to help people who are doing good things like this so...when Smuggler here told me what you were planning….well...I wanted to be of as much financial help as possible.” 

Alis and Ratchet’s heads snapped towards each other, and their wide eyes met. Alis sat up towards the edge of her seat as she moved to look towards Ellie. “--you want to fund the Fastoon project?!” 

“Every single bit of it.” Ellie said with a smile. 

“That would be amazing!” Ratchet said quickly. “We had no idea how we were gonna do this. I mean it’s...millions of dollars.” 

“I know, I know. That’s no skin off my back.” Ellie explained. She glanced at Talwyn to see where her emotions lie and found her staring at Ratchet, looking almost uncertain. “...let me sweeten the deal a little more for you, Mrs. Apogee.” 

Talwyn looked up at Ellie, and she didn’t say anything. She just stared intently, her expression caught somewhere between bewilderment and anger.

“...you might have noticed, in your time trying to track down my crime ring, that you’ve stumbled across  _ no  _ sex trafficking whatsoever.” Ellie explained. “...I don’t allow that. At all. I  _ will not tolerate it.  _ I have been there. I have done that. I have been one of those girls. However, you and I both know that there’s...quite a few other rings out there that allow it and thrive off of it and quite frankly that makes my skin crawl. I’ve already had my...team…” She paused to look at Smug. “...take care of a few of these trafficking rings but we can’t get them all, and quite frankly I don’t think the police or defense force can either. But if you allow us to continue to take down these rings and...point us in the direction of the ones we don’t find….well. I think you won’t have to worry about them any longer.” 

Talwyn watched Ellie, and after a moment she sat back in her chair again. “....funding for Fastoon, and help with the other rings…” She said. Then, she sighed. She looked up at Ratchet besides her and found eyes looking back at her that were full of hope for the funding needed to rebuild his destroyed home. After a moment she nodded. “...as long as word of me being here or making any deals with you doesn’t get out...then I’ll agree to your deal.” 

Ellie smiled widely, and she made a zipping motion over her lips. “...we won’t say a word, dear. Don’t worry. Now, my assistant Orvar will be in contact with you and when you have all of the expenses down please send it to him and we’ll get it taken care of.” 

“Thank you so, so much.” Alis spoke up, her blue eyes practically sparkling with joy at the deal just made. 

“Of course, darling. Don’t worry, I love to help.” She said. She stood from her desk, adjusting he evening gown before walking out from behind it. “Now that business is out of the way, why don’t we go downstairs? Have some fun?” 

“Sounds fine with me.” Ratchet said as he stood up from his seat. “It’s been a while since I got to gamble, sounds like fun, huh?” He turned to Talwyn, holding out an arm for her. 

She reluctantly, silently took it.

\--

“...Tal?” 

Ratchet’s voice cut through the silence of the casino hotel room. Ratchet stepped out of the bathroom in an old baggy shirt and sweatpants and walked over to the bed where Talwyn sat. “...what’s up?” He asked. 

“What do you mean, ‘what’s up’?” She asked, not glancing up from the floor. 

“You’ve been quiet all evening.” Ratchet said. 

Talwyn sighed,and reached up to run a hand through her hair. “...I dunno, guess I’m worried. Scared.” 

“...about the deal we just made?” 

“Yeah. The deal we just made.” Talwyn admitted. “I...If that information gets out. That I made a deal with a crime boss...money in exchange for shutting up, you know? That could ruin my career.” 

Ratchet bit his lip, sitting forwards and resting his elbows on his knees. “...so why’d you do it, Tal? Why didn’t you put up a fight?” 

“Because I looked at you.” Talwyn explained as she turned her head towards him. “I looked at you and saw so much...hope.” 

Ratchet sighed, and he bit his lip slightly. “...I….yeah. There was hope.” 

“The idea of rebuilding your home and meeting other Lombaxes obviously  _ really  _ makes you happy.” Talwyn continued. “...I just thought...I’ve been polaris defense force captain before. I’ve lived a bit of my dream and...you deserve yours. You deserve that happiness. As your wife….I wanna help you Ratchet. Even if it means making deals with crime bosses I’ve been trying to kill for a while.” 

Ratchet was silent for a while after Talwyn spoke. He slipped his hand into hers, and he leaned against her so he could rest his head on her shoulder. “...you have no idea how much that means to me.” He said softly.

Talwyn moved to kiss his head. “...I know. That’s why it’s all worth it.” 

Ratchet closed his eyes. “...love you, Tal.”

“Love you too, Ratchet.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yooo another chapter!   
> Thank you so much for coming by to give it a read, I super appreciate it! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank so much for reading!! I'm exctied to start this whole project, I've got lots of plans for it! It does take a slight backseat to my other fic TSB, so updates may be slower though. Regardless, I hope you stick around! I can't wait to write more <3


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